The All American Reject
by stella maynard
Summary: He’s the town’s bad boy and troublemaker. She’s the sweetheart of Stars Hollow. They are total opposites and they seem perfect together. But is their relationship meant to last? Or is it doomed to burn like his cigarettes? Lit, Jess's POV, long-term fic.
1. The Start of Something New

**The All-American Reject**

By stella maynard

**Summary:** He's the town's bad boy and troublemaker. She's the sweetheart of Stars Hollow. They are total opposites and they seem perfect for each other. But is their relationship meant to last? Or is it doomed to burn like one of his cigarettes?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Rory, Jess, Stars Hollow or any of its inhabitants, _A Room With a View_, or any other book/author I may mention. They all belong to whomever they belong to.

**Chapter 1**: The Start of Something New

The sky was blue and cloudless, the trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and Stars Hollow was the picture of the perfect fairy tale town. If you ventured down Plum Lane, you would even see two girls, braids in their hair, skipping towards the town center hand-in-hand. But Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was oblivious to all of this. At the moment, she was on her way to London, trekking down lonely dirt roads in her bare feet – while sitting on a bench in the town square. So engrossed was she in the troubles of young Oliver Twist that she did not notice as a dark-haired young man exited the diner and walked briskly over to her. She did not even realize when he sat down on the bench and turned to stare at her. After a moment, he leaned over and snatched the book from her hands.

"Hey! What do you think you're – " Rory began hotly but was cut off as the boy quickly put his lips on hers. She was surprised, but soon lost herself in the kiss.

When they broke apart, Rory smiled at the boy who was now watching her intently. "Hey, Jess. You're quite the Dodger, aren't you?"

"Yep," replied the dark-haired young man as he pulled her close and linked hands with his girlfriend of a month. "I steal books. And kisses," he added with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

Rory laughed. "Really? I consider myself warned. What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to work until four today."

Jess smirked. "Huh, you don't say? Well, here I am."

Grinning, Rory said, "Good. Then you can come with me."

Standing, she pulled on his hand, trying to make him join her. Jess refused. He looked up at Rory suspiciously. Her light brown hair fell in soft ringlets around her face, her blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Where are you taking me?" he demanded.

Shaking her head, Rory leaned in close towards his face. She pressed a light kiss on his lips. Just as he tried to pull her to him and deepen the kiss, she pulled back and started walking away.

Jess groaned. "You're a tease, Gilmore!" he called after her retreating back. She smiled over her shoulder and winked. Thankfully, she wasn't the awkward winker her mother was. The sunlight made her hair glow against her blue sweater. Sighing, he stood and hurried after her.

As he caught up with her, he lightly placed his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. She leaned into him and said with a smile in her voice, "I knew you couldn't resist me."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get cocky," Jess warned.

She feigned innocence. "Me? Never! I'm shocked that you would ever think such a thing. I'm flabbergasted, hurt, bewildered – " She broke off with a squeal as she spotted her destination and began to drag him towards the bookstore.

Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was acting in her typical fashion. She did not appear to be your average teenage girl embarking on her senior year of high school. For one thing, she still looked forward to school and gave all her effort on each and every class assignment. She enjoyed reading, extensively. When asked, the inhabitants of Stars Hollow always said the same things of Rory: "She's such a sweet girl. She's always reading or helping us with town events. She's going to reach the top, that girl. Her mother raised her right, even if they are a bit strange. She never caused any trouble at all. You cannot find a better, nicer girl than Rory Gilmore." A pause would generally follow, then a question in a bewildered tone. "What is she doing with _that_ boy?"

"_That_ boy," of course, referred to Jess Mariano. Stars Hollow had never seen the likes of him before, and for that they were grateful. Dressed in all black, even in the summer, Jess stood out from the unbelievably chipper town. He first arrived at the end of his sophomore year after his mother, Liz, gave up on him. Although the two hadn't been close, they had only had each other, plus whoever happened to be Liz's current boyfriend. Jess's father had left them shortly after his birth. Jess came to stay with his Uncle Luke, though he usually just called him by his first name. The man ran and owned the diner where Jess worked after school. With the boy's colorful language and cigarettes, the town was blown away. They wondered how he had ever managed to befriend Rory, especially since he was accused of stealing from the grocery shop, vandalizing a store, and egging the town square. But the two bonded over their love of books. When Rory broke up with her first boyfriend, the town was shocked that she began to date him of all people. They were sure he would corrupt their angel, but the girl remained her usual sweet self.

But at the moment, the two did not seem odd together, discounting the fact that Jess was actually smiling. He only seemed to let his guard down around Rory, as he proved by those rare smiles. The town had gotten used to seeing Rory with her moody companion.

They entered Paperbacked, the local bookstore owned by Andrew, and went to opposite sides of the small room. They browsed and consulted one another.

"Hey, Jess? Have you read _A Room with a View_?"

"Get the movie, much less confusing, great actors, stays true to the story. Look, _Persuasion_. You like Austen," he suggested.

"True, but _Pride and Prejudice_ is better," Rory murmured before emitting a squeal. "Dickens! Any recommendations?"

"_Oliver Twist_ is good, but you already have that one, of course," Jess smirked at her while walking over to look at the selection. "I'd stay away from _Hard Times_, really strange with the whole circus and clown thing it has going. _Great Expectations_, too, you know, with Miss Havisham, her dress, her clocks, her cake. _A Tale of Two Cities_ is kind of dark, but hopeful, like yours truly." She swatted him with the book in question. "You could also try _Nicholas Nickleby_ or_ The Pickwick Papers_."

Jess watched, amused, as she read the summary of each of his picks and placed all of them on top of her already large pile of books to purchase. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?" she asked, confused at his interest.

"You know," he said with a mocking grin, "it is possible to overdose on Dickens. You should try to sober up with some Hemingway."

"Never!" Rory gasped. She turned back to the stacked shelves and picked out a thick paperback. "Here, you try this. I know you'll like it."

Jess glanced incredulously at the cover of that book she had pressed firmly in his hand. "_Little Women_?"

She nodded her head; he shook his. "I'm not reading this."

"Yes, you are. Now be quiet and help me find some more things. These won't last very long," she said, gesturing to the pile that already reached her knees with one hand while tracing her finger across books on the shelves, whispering the titles as she searched, every once in a while pulling one out to skim the back cover.

Three hours later, Rory and Jess struggled out of Paperbacked. Each was holding a large bag overflowing with books. On the top of Jess's pile was a brand new copy of Louisa May Alcott's _Little Women_.

**Music:** "The Start of Something New" from Disney's _High School Musical_

**Author's Note:** And that the first chapter. A sort of introduction. What do you think so far? Any suggestions? I made a few changes, mainly because I can't remember the details of what happened on the show, but the essentials are the same. Each chapter will be a song title (I do not own any of the songs in case you were wondering) that fits with the mood of the chapter. If you have any ideas, I welcome them. And yes, I do watch the Disney Channel faithfully, not ashamed to admit it. Please review! I'd love to read your comments! Also, I could not remember the name of the bookstore in Stars Hollow, so I made one up. This story will probably follow the basic plot of the show for a time, but it will change, so stay tuned and please review!


	2. My Girl's ExBoyfriend

**The All American Reject**

By stella maynard

**Author's Note:** Just a little warning. This chapter will be a bit OOC, since I originally wrote this for a different story and adjusted it for _Gilmore Girls_. Plus, I make some of the characters reflect my opinions of them. Sorry about that. I will try to remain more in character next chapter. There are a couple of points where I clearly stray from certain aspects of the characters. If this really bothers anyone, let me know (in a review!) and I will attempt to fix it. This chapter does not take place in any specific point in the show, but it has elements of several episodes. See if you can figure out which ones!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. It's sad. Really. That includes the "soundtrack" to this chapter.

Chapter 2: My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend

The bells above the door chimed as Taylor swept in to the diner, dressed in his usual sweater. "People, people, let me remind you that tickets for our annual Fall Formal Festival, taking place next Saturday, are being sold everyday this week and next week from 3:00 until 5:30, but today only you will get a special five percent discount. That means the dance is _next_ Saturday, not tomorrow," Taylor emphasized, gesticulating with his hands. "Remember, as citizens of Stars Hollow, you are all expected to be there. And in your _formal _wear."

"How can we forget, Taylor?" demanded Luke, coming out from behind the diner's counter. "You put posters up in every store window and on all the light posts. The town is covered in all those stupid fliers."

Taylor drew himself up. "Well, Lucas, I seem to remember a certain someone being absent from the festivities last year. You obviously forgot," he stated huffily.

"No, I just refused to go, like I'm going to do again this year. Now leave," he ordered, holding the door open for Taylor.

The customers in the diner began to talk about the upcoming dance, or sports, or the latest episode of _Project Runway_. Rory grinned at Jess as Taylor ignored Luke's commands and continued on his speech. Jess, however, was looking determinedly straight out the window. "Jess. Oh, _Jess_," she said in singsong. "Are we gonna buy our tickets today?"

Silence.

"You know, you don't have to be embarrassed. I thought it was really sweet," she assured him with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye.

More silence, accompanied by some red creeping up towards his cheeks.

"Not every guy would sing a song to ask his girlfriend to a stupid town dance, especially one he doesn't really wanna go to. I loved being serenaded from my bedroom window. It was so…cliché. And you really weren't bad. Harry's dog always howls at that time of night," she added, trying – and failing – to fight back her grin.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we be a couple of the few people in this town who aren't actually talking about the dance right now? Yeah, won't that be fun?" Jess questioned desperately. His face was now completely red.

Rory laughed. "All right. Let's play Rapid Fire." Rapid Fire was a game they had played when they were still only starting to get to know one another. One person would pick a topic and the second person would come up with a question that the first person would have to answer instantly, without thinking. The first player would then come up with another question that the second would answer, and so on. The fast pace of the game, especially when the players live in a little New England town where the art of speaking slowly is not one most people have taken the time to master, does make for some interesting reveals. Rory in particular possessed some material she could use to blackmail her boyfriend.

"Again? Do I have to?" Jess groaned.

"But then again, maybe you should get that guitar tuned. When you hit those high notes -"

He put a hand on her mouth. "Okay, fine. Let's play."

"Only if you want," she said, smiling innocently when he removed his hand. "Category will be…movies."

Jess smiled slightly in relief. At least this was a normal topic. Once, Rory had picked to question him about vegetables. That had been a short game, although there hade been quite a few interesting questions. And answers, too, especially on Rory's part.

Jess began. "Okay. Uh, favorite?"

"_Pirates of the Caribbean_. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?" Rory answered in her best, and very bad, Johnny Depp impression. "Favorite Tom hanks film?"

"Either _Saving Private Ryan_ or _Cast Away_. Favorite cliché?"

"Come on, Jess! You ought to know this one. _A Walk to Remember_. It's impossible not to love the whole 'bad boy meets good girl who turns bad boy into best boy' idea. That's some good stuff," Rory sighed. Then after a moment she added, "Maybe not the part of the good girl going to greet God, though. Anyway, guilty pleasure? Do mine eyes spy a blush brushing your cheeks?"

It was true. Jess Mariano, currently wearing a black tee-shirt with the words "Kiss My" followed by a picture of a donkey, once again had a couple of rather pink cheeks. "Thenibk," he mumbled.

"What was that?" she queried, grinning evilly. "Oh I should have asked that question sooner."

He cleared his throat. "I said _The Notebook_," he muttered quietly.

Rory burst out laughing. A couple of people sitting nearby looked around in surprise. She just gave them a smile and turned back to her boyfriend, who was glowering. "Oh, we're just a couple of Nicholas Sparks lovers, aren't we? That movie would be my answer to so many questions," she noted still laughing quietly. "It's your turn to ask, right?"

"Yes. Favorite Olsen twins movie?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"_Winning London_," stated Rory proudly. "First movie you cried in?"

"_Bambi_. Cut it out," Jess ordered sternly when she began to 'awww.' "I was six. Favorite Disney movie?"

"You're making me pick just one? Are you crazy? There's so many. I'll give you three. I guess it'd be between _Mulan_, _Beauty and the Beast_, and, of course, _Cinderella_. I love a man who can dance. Huh. That was mean, making me choose. Let's see. Favorite fantasy film? Wow, did you hear that alliteration?"

"Yeah, great job, Ror," Jess said sarcastically. "I guess _The 10th Kingdom_. Is that fantasy or fairy tale?" he questioned as she stood up, preparing to meet her mother at the inn.

"I don't know. It's a great movie though. _We will, we will shear you_," Rory sang walking out of the diner, Jess following her out the door. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

He looked back at his obviously stressed uncle and shrugged, putting his arm around her shoulder. Rory laughed. "You know, most of your answers don't really fit your image. I can see the Tom Hanks movies that you chose, but _Bambi_? And I can't really see you, the former New Yorker, in your black leather jacket, smoking, waiting with your friends on a line outside the movie theater to buy a ticket to see _The Notebook_."

"Hey, I went alone. And I like plenty of things that fit my _image_," he said, feeling a sudden need to defend his loner, somewhat troublesome reputation. "You were just asking all the wrong questions."

"Au contraire, Jess," commented Rory turning to him as they came to a stop outside the inn. "I definitely asked all the right ones."

She blew him a kiss as she headed inside. "I'll meet you back at the diner in an hour. We are buying those tickets today!" she called back over her shoulder.

* * *

"You're both going? You and _you_?" Dana Wyndal asked with a raise of one of her perfectly waxed eyebrows as her green eyes fell on Jess. 

"Actually, no. Just her. I've only been standing her for the past 25 minutes because I have a fetish for lines," Jess retorted sarcastically.

Rory lightly nudged him in the ribs. "Yes, Dana, we're both going."

"You do understand that it's a formal dance, right? Meaning you have to wear a suit. And a black tie," Dana continued, her eyes still on Jess but now reading his shirt.

He glared.

"Yes, Dana, we know. Is there anything else we have to do?" questioned Rory.

"Yeah. It's $40 for two tickets and then you've gotta sign your names," she explained, turning her attention to Rory for the first time with a slight smile. The two had been friends when they were younger, but had drifted apart since then. Jess threw down the money in Dana's general direction and then picked up the pen after Rory finished signing.

"All right, let's go," he said, grabbing his girlfriend's hand and pulling her down from the town's gazebo to eat the sandwiches he had brought from Luke's. Rory used her free hand to send a little wave back to Dana.

Jess and Rory headed to a different part of the town square to enjoy the still mild weather. Within a few short weeks, it would most likely be too chilly to sit outside in the fresh air.

Sitting down under the shade of a large tree, Rory said, "You know that I can pay for my own ticket, right?"

"Right now you're still my new girlfriend. I have to buy you everything. But, don't worry, in a few weeks, you can pay for yourself again. Hell, maybe you'll even buy for me, too," said Jess with a slight laugh, joining her on the ground.

Rory chuckled. "Good. I look forward to it."

"So," said Jess, taking a big bit out of his sandwich. "Whafareeduntweekin?"

Rory stared, not moving. "That was disgusting. What did you just say?"

Big swallow. "Sorry. I asked you what we're doing this weekend."

"Nothing," she sighed. "I have to visit my dad in Boston."

Rory's parents had never been together since she was born. She lived with her mother in Stars Hollow, while she visited her father from time to time in Boston, a few hours away. He had never played a really large role in her life, aside from the occasional phone call or visit. But a couple years ago, he had expressed a wish to be there for her more. Things sometimes felt forced, but the relationship was improving, as the father and daughter could now at least talk to one another over the table with ease. They were becoming closer, though not nearly as close as the two Lorelais.

"Oh, ok. Explain to me how she became Stars Hollow's student body president again?"

Rory blinked. "Wow, that came out of nowhere. Dana? Well, first off, she's gorgeous." Although she wasn't his type, Jess had to admit that Dana was pretty. With her naturally tan skin, black hair, and green eyes, she had the exotic look down to an art. She drove many guys insane because she refused to stay with anyone for more than two weeks, three at most. "So she has most of the boys' votes. Plus, she can be really nice, so she'll get some votes from the girls. She doesn't intimidate people to get them to vote for her, like Paris."

"Right," Jess nodded, taking another bite from his sandwich.

"I'm going shopping with my mom on Friday to get a dress for the dance. Do you have your suit?"

"Yep," he mumbled swallowing. "Don't you worry."

* * *

_Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?_

Jess rang the doorbell to Rory's house. _Lady Marmalade_ answered him, being one of the many quirks of the Gilmore girls. Rory had explained once to him that they had bought a doorbell that could play songs. Her mom had programmed _Lady Marmalade_ as a joke, but had not been able to change it after. They decided they liked it that way anyway.

Lorelai opened the door. "Hi, Jess. Come on in," she said, stepping aside. "Rory's still getting ready."

Jess entered the living room and was just about to sit down when Rory entered the room. She was wearing a dark blue strapless dress that nearly reached the floor. She had curled her long hair so that it fell softly over her shoulders. She smiled at Jess.

"You look beautiful," he said, walking over to her.

"Thanks. You look pretty dashing yourself," she said, eyes twinkling as she looked him up and down. He wore his dark hair messy, as usual, but had on a pair of pants, a jacket, and a tie, all black, with a white shirt. However, beneath his crisp pants was a pair of bright red, tattered Converse sneakers.

"Thanks very much," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her. _Click!_ Turning, Rory and Jess saw a grinning Lorelai with a camera.

"Hi, there!" she exclaimed. "Now I need the traditional photos by the mantelpiece. First, Rory. Then, just you, Jess. Don't look at me like that. I'm a mother, you're taking out my daughter, I get to boss you around." He glowered. "Then, the two of you together. And finally, one by the door as you leave. Maybe one when you drive away. We'll have to see." She grinned happily.

After getting all the shots she said she would, plus quite a few more, Lorelai walked out onto the porch, camera still in hand, ready to wave the couple off. Jess and Rory walked down the steps together until he hurried ahead of his car to open the side door for her. She stopped walking when she saw what he was doing.

"I can open the door myself," she protested with a smile.

"Rory, don't argue! He won't offer forever. Take advantage of him now," Lorelai called from the porch.

Jess grinned. "For once, I agree with your mother. I told you already, soon you're gonna be opening the door for me."

"All right," she said with another smile. She stepped towards her boyfriend, who opened the door for her. _Click!_

"Last one, I swear!"

Smirking, Jess closed the door once Rory was safely in and walked over to his side, raising a hand to wave to Lorelai. He turned on the ignition.

"Ready?" he asked, turning to face Rory.

"Ready."

He put the car in drive and pulled out of the driveway. Back on the porch, Lorelai raised her camera to take one last picture.

* * *

When they arrived at the school gym where the dance was being held, they found that the dance floor was already full of people moving to the music. Babette and Morrie had their own space, free of other dancers, since they were dancing so…energetically. Rory and Jess walked to a table in the corner of the room where there were still some empty seats. There were some purses and jackets on the other seats, but the other occupants were not present. Rory and Jess put down their things and went to get a drink. 

Putting her empty cup in the trash, Rory said, "Let's dance." Ignoring his protests, she pulled Jess onto the dance floor just as a slow song started up. Smiling up at him, she put her arms around his neck as he put his hands on her waist. She leaned up to give him a gentle kiss, but, when he started to deepen it, she did not stop him. She moved her lips against his as they swayed softly to the music. He pulled her body closer to him and moved his hands up and down her back. As the music played, she ran her hands through his messy hair. The two felt perfectly in sync and safe together. She felt safe and he was content. Pulling away from him, Rory blushed and looked down at her feet. Jess used his finger to gently lift her head so that she had to look him in the eye. He smiled at her and leaned down slightly to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Why don't we go back to the table? We can dance again later. I bet they'll be serving dinner soon," Jess suggested. She nodded. "I'm going to hold you to that dance, you know," he whispered as he grabbed her hand to lead her back to their stuff. However, when he approached the table, he stopped dead.

Rory walked straight into his back. "Jess, what are you - ?" She caught sight of the table. "Oh. Dean."

Sitting at the corner table was Rory's former boyfriend. Dean Forrester leaned back in his chair and smirked at the couple as they took their seats as far away from him as the tiny table would allow. With his flat brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and six-four frame, Dean was one of the most sought after boys in school. He had dated Rory for about a year until he broke up with her, but not until he had cheated on her. When she confronted him, he simply said he had wanted to see 'what else was out there.' Rory started dating Jess soon after. He later tried to win her back, apologizing and following her everywhere. When nothing he did worked, he moved on, but never truly gave up on her. Every so often, he would send her flowers or ask her out to dinner. She always refused, of course, but, being the angel she was, could never tell him 'no' firmly enough so that he would surrender. They maintained a version of friendship.

"Rory," Dean said, leaning forward on his elbows a bit. His breath smelled of alcohol. "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks," she replied stiffly, recoiling from the scent.

"You're going to save me a dance later," he commanded with a slightly suggestive raise of his eyebrow.

Rory scoffed. "Excuse me? Did you honestly just tell me what to do? I'm not your girlfriend anymore. _You_ dumped _me_. I am not going to dance with you."

The girl beside Dean, Jess recognized her as Lindsay from his math class, chuckled slightly at the look on her boyfriend's face. Unfortunately, that only seemed to outrage him.

"You always used to do what I said. So happy that someone wanted to be with you. Never used to argue. Too bad you weren't like this earlier. You might have been interesting enough for me to stick around," Dean snarled.

As tears welled up in her eyes, Rory muttered a quick excuse, her voice wavering, before she dashed out of the room. Jess watched from his seat as she ran from the room before he did anything. As soon as the doors closed behind her, he reached over to grab Dean by his collar and shoved him against the wall. Although Dean had quite a few inches of height on him, Jess's anger made it easy for him to pin the other boy so that he was unable to escape.

Aware that everybody was watching them, Jess muttered quietly, "If you ever talk to her that way again, I _will_ kill you. Hell, if you even think about talking to her like that again, I'll kill you. Hurt her in any way and I'll castrate you. Get it? See you later, _Dean_." With one final shove that knocked his captive's head to the wall, Jess let him go and stalked towards the doors after his girlfriend.

He found her a few blocks away, leaning against the grocery store's closed door, sobbing. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She continued to cry into his chest. "He never used to be like this. He didn't drink. Well, n-not mu-much. He was so nice to me all the time. Always br-brought me to special pl-places," she wailed. Jess never said anything. He just held her close to him, comforting, safe.

When she finally stopped crying, he looked down at her. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Mascara was running down her cheeks. He asked, "Do you want to dance?"

Startled, Rory looked up. "What?"

"I told you I was going to hold you to that dance. So, do you want to dance?" he repeated.

"S-sure. Where?"

Silently, Jess took her hand in his and, their fingers interlaced, pulled her into the empty street. He started to sway on the spot, still holding her hand.

"We need music," she pointed out, her voice returning to normal.

"Don't worry," he said. He pulled her to him again for the second time that night. He began to lead her in a simple dance, humming a tune. Rory smiled into his shoulder, catching on to what her boyfriend was doing.

She leaned back slightly so she could look him straight in the eye. She gazed into his eyes, seemingly looking for something. A small smile flittered across her lips. "You're a terrible singer," she commented in a very fake southern drawl.

He nodded solemnly. "I know," he acknowledged, pulling her back to him, continuously swaying on the spot, humming softly.

Rory snuggled in as close as she could to him. In his arms, she felt something she had never truly felt before. She forgot her troubles from the evening's drama and the world disappeared. For the first time, she felt completely content and satisfied. She thought she could stay in his arms forever.

* * *

**Music:** _My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend_ by Relient K, _I'll Be_ by Edwin McCain, _First Date_ by Blink-182, _Truly Madly Deeply_ by Savage Garden, _Here In Your Arms_ by Hellogoodbye

**Thanks to: **Curley-Q, hollowgirl22, Megzzz05, jessroryfan24, RBDFAN, wallaceout, and Dreams-of-Oompa-Loompas

**Author's Note: **So that was Chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed it and please review. I'd love some feedback and suggestions. I'm going to be following the story from mainly Jess's point of view so at times it will be different from the show. Thanks for all the support and I'll see you as soon as possible (school's a bit hectic). And a note on the music: Well, obviously I don't own any of the songs and they are not in any particular order. Also, I might repeat songs in future chapters. Or simply add songs in past chapters later, but probably not. (And no judging my music taste! Just kidding, feel free to judge all you want. I think these songs fit the mood, if not the content, well) Review!


	3. Trucker Hat

The All-American Reject

Chapter 3: Trucker Hat

As Jess descended the stairs from the apartment he and Luke shared, the conversations in the diner drifted up to his ears. One particular strain caught his attention.

"What could he be? Oh, I know!" exclaimed a familiar voice. "A tomato!"

"Who's a tomato?" Jess asked as he passed through the doorway. He saw Rory and her mother sitting at the counter, a muffin in front of each of them. He leaned over the counter to give his girlfriend a kiss and then waited for Lorelai's answer.

Luke, who was glaring at the elder Gilmore, quickly growled, "No one."

Lorelai ignored his weak attempt to prevent her from responding. Instead she smiled brightly and said, "Why, Luke, of course."

With a quirk of his eyebrow, Jess asked slowly, "And why is Luke a tomato?"

"Since you asked so politely, Jess, your uncle is a tomato because he turns a lovely shade of red when angry and, when something is bothering him, he lashes out, sort of like he's throwing a tomato. Example: he pushed you in the lake," Lorelai explained.

Jess nodded seriously. "Logical."

She gave a little half-shrug. "I thought so."

Snapping his head to the side to face his nephew, Luke demanded, "Why are you encouraging her? You know almost everything she says is complete nonsense." He took a deep breath before turning to Rory. "You're supposed to be the sane one. You can stop her."

Rory was silent a moment before swiveling in her seat to face her mother. Opening her mouth, she said, "Mom, Luke's right. I don't think we should call him a tomato anymore." ("Thank you!" muttered Luke.) She continued, "We've already decided Taylor's a tomato, remember? Luke needs to be some other kind of food."

Luke groaned and left to take Kirk's order. Jess leaned his elbows on the counter, leaving smudge marks.

Lorelai grinned at her daughter, "You had me worried there for a moment, fruit of my loins. Oh! I know what Luke can be – a potato!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

Rory looked at her oddly. "Firstly, please stop calling me that. Secondly, why a potato?"

"Firstly, no. Secondly, because potato rhymes with tomato," Lorelai explained as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"So what?"

"Well they sound similar, so they must have some kind of relationship." Lorelai searched her memory. "Don't you remember that show, _Ken and Ken_ or _Pat and Pat_? Those guys had similar names and they were close."

Rory shook her head. "One, that makes no sense. Two, I have no idea what you're talking about. And three, those guys seem to have the same name."

"I told you the, _the show_. The one with the guys and the house…" Lorelai trailed off, clearly at a loss for a more detailed description.

"I think she's talking about _Pete and Pete_, two brothers with the same first name. Or maybe she's thinking of _Keenan and Kel_, but they were best friends. Both shows were on Nickelodeon," Jess said.

Both women merely looked at him. "What? I was nine once." He continued conversationally, "So why are you guys declaring people to be vegetable in the first place?"

"We were in Dosey's," Rory began, "when we saw a box of Gushers. Do you remember those commercials for them where people would eat one and then their head would turn into a watermelon or something?"

At Jess's nod, Lorelai continued the story, "So we got to thinking, what if everybody ate a Gusher of themselves? What food would they turn into? We decided Miss Patty would be a strawberry and Morrie a _cool_ cucumber. Then Rory thought a tomato should be anger. But we saw Taylor at the cash register, and, well, he just _looks_ like a tomato."

Jess smirked. "True. So what did you decide for me?"

Rory gave him a sweet smile. "You're an eggplant."

Jess blinked. "What?"

His girlfriend nodded. "Yep, an eggplant. It was my idea," she said when Jess shot Lorelai a suspicious look. "I have two reasons. One is that almost everybody hates eggplants. Some people even curse eggplants, or try to stay as far away as possible. Wait for it," she said sternly at the disbelieving look on Jess's face.

"However, eggplant does have its fans. I personally think it's great. Luke cares for it, though he would never admit it. Even Mom likes it."

Lorelai interrupted, "Actually, I'm just getting used to it. And I think Patty would be a big, pinching fan of eggplant if eggplant hadn't raided her strawberry patch the first month it was here."

"Lucky vegetable," Jess said in a monotone. "And your second reason?"

Rory shrugged. "There's always something dark on you. It's the darkest fruit/vegetable I could think of other than avocado. And, trust me, you are _not_ an avocado, my friend."

Jess looked down at his outfit. "I'm wearing a khaki shirt and blue jeans!" he said incredulously.

"Yes, but you have black hair," Rory explained, pointing.

"So I should go blond?"

Rory tilted her head to the side. "In the words of Elle Woods, I don't think you could handle it. Besides, I already told you bout my feelings about eggplant. Well, in the particular theoretical situation. I actually hate eggplant; it's disgusting."

Jess chuckled softly. He began to talk quietly to Rory. Lorelai, bored from being relatively silent for so long, turned in her stool to observe the diner. She spotted Luke arguing fervently with Taylor, although in hushed tones.

Suddenly, Luke roared, "Taylor, no! Get out!" And with a great deal more energy than was strictly necessary, Luke, still yelling, pushed Taylor, still arguing, out of the diner. As soon as the town selectman was out the door, Luke slammed it shut, its belling dinging helplessly.

Lorelai turned to the two young people near her. Grinning, she suggested, "Taylor may have dibs on being a tomato, but I think Luke has the soul of a toh-mah-toe."

* * *

Jess left his history classroom, crumpling up the note his academic advisor had sent him, requesting a short meeting after school to discuss his academic standing.

Jess tossed the small ball of paper into a trash can as he passed it. There was no chance of his showing up. It had been a long, boring day, filled with long, boring lectures that he ignored as he improved his artistic ability. Rory had told him often enough that if he would only focus, he'd be able to put his creativity to good use. He thought art might be the answer; that outline of a body he had made outside the market had been pretty talented, even if he did say so himself.

Anyway, it was Friday and school was over. He had no clubs or anything to deal with, only plans to meet up with Rory outside the school in ten minutes. Besides, he'd actually gone to class all week. Well, Tuesday he had cut out after third period, but what did that matter? He already knew everything they were trying to teach him.

And he didn't care about his academic standing. So what if he cut half his classes? He always aced the tests. Teaches were always entreating him to "apply" himself, but he had better thing to do. If he actually cared, he could probably have been valedictorian. He learned the concepts in a fraction of the time it took for the other students. Well, that wasn't hard to believe. The school was filled with baboons like Dean.

Stepping down the steps of Stars Hollow High School, Jess paused. _Speak of the idiot_, he thought.

Jess glowered as he saw Dean talking to Rory. She was sitting on a bench, a book shut on her lap. She was also smiling at whatever Dean was saying. When she saw Jess on the steps, she got up, waved a farewell to Dean, and walked quickly towards him.

By the time he had finished his descent, Rory was at his side. "Hey," she greeted cheerfully.

He did not say anything but instead pulled her into a deep kiss. She eagerly responded.

When they broke apart, Rory, slightly out of breath, asked, "What was that for?"

Jess shrugged and swung his arm easily over her shoulders and began to lead her to the diner. She comfortably leaned into him. Out of the corned of his eyes, Jess saw Dean glaring from near the bench.

Jess smirked but said nothing. Rory did not notice. He asked, "What were you reading?"

"_They Cage the Animals at Night_," she answered, holding up her book. "For the twelfth time. It always makes me happy, sad, and relieved that I've never been in an orphanage or foster care."

As Jess hadn't read the book, he said nothing. Instead he steered her across the street. When they were at the steps that led to the diner, Kirk opened the door to leave Luke's.

"Hi, Kirk," greeted Rory.

"Rory," he nodded. He then turned to Jess. "Jess, you slightly terrify me and I may break out is hives soon for doing this, but I wanted to let you know that you put your hair to good use. It's not floppy. You style it so you don't appear as short as you actually are. You even look taller than Rory. I myself have tried a similar look, but Mother said that because of my delicate bone structure it made me look _peaked_."

Rory fought the giggles that were ready to escape her. She dared not look at Jess, knowing that his expression would ruin all her efforts. She managed to reply to Kirk, "I believe it's pronounced _pea-ked_."

He nodded his thanks and turned back to Jess. "If you want to stop by the hair shop during one of my shifts, I can recommend a gel with the most bounce potential."

As he walked away, Jess recovered a bit and yelled at his retreating back, "I'm not short!"

When Kirk was out of hearing distance, Rory surrendered to her laughter. When she calmed down a bit (although she didn't stop smiling), she grabbed the still glaring Jess by the hand and dragged him into the diner. "Come on, shorty," she chuckled.

"I am not short," he protested. "Five-nine is not short. Five-eight and three-quarters is not short either. It's average. It's not tall, not short. Average."

Rory didn't say anything at the moment. She slipped off her jacket and allowed him to stew for a minute before asking, "What are you doing tonight?"

He broke away from his thoughts and sighed. "I'm working 'til ten."

"Oh," she pouted. "I wanted you to come with me to Hartford to watch Lane's band."

"Sorry," he said. "Where does Mrs. Kim think Lane is going to be?"

"In Hartford." He raised his eyebrows and she continued, "With me, watching a play about the Last Supper by the Hartford Community Theater. Apparently my soul needs saving so Mrs. Kim gave her hearty consent."

Jess chuckled. Although he had yet to admit it, he actually liked Lane. He would never expect such a small girl to have so much pluck or deceit in her. He also hadn't thought that after being raised in such a conservative household, she'd have such good taste in music.

"Clearly you do. You're dating the devil according to the good inhabitants of Stars Hollow," he stated.

"You're not the devil, just his second cousin once removed," she consoled him.

They both lapsed into silence as Luke placed a plate of fries in front of them.

After a few moments, Jess broke the quiet, saying "You know, not everybody can be a giant like that beanpole ex of yours."

Rory frowned. "You're still upset about that? You're not short, you're average. I thought we already established that. Babette is short, you're not. And don't call Dean that," she scolded.

Jess mulishly asked, "Why was he talking to you earlier?"

"After school? He was apologizing for the seventeen hundredth time for his behavior at that dance three months ago. And he asked if we could be friends."

"Let me guess, you said yes," he sneered.

"Jess, stop it. Yes, I said yes. Just to being _friends_. I miss talking to him, but I don't miss dating him. I chose you," she said firmly. She stood up and put her coat on. "I've got to go get ready for the salvation of my soul. See you."

She leaned in to give him a kiss then left the diner. Jess picked at the remaining fries moodily before pushing the plate away from him and stalking up the stairs to the apartment. He really needed some loud music right now.

* * *

Later that night, Jess dragged a large bag filled with trash and threw it into the dumpster behind the diner. When he turned to go back in, he ran into Dean. He narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything and headed towards the door.

However, he stopped when he heard Dean call, "She's too good for you. You don't deserve her."

He didn't bother to pretend he didn't know who 'she' was. "Maybe she is, but I deserve her a hell of a lot more than you do."

Dean scoffed. "Oh, yeah? How do you figure?"

Jess turned around, looked him in they eye and said simply, "You let her go, you idiot."

Jess took advantage of Dean's dumbfounded state to walk to the diner. However, before he had walked two steps, the taller boy grabbed hold of the sleeve of his jacket, pulled him back, and slammed him against the wall. He then straightened himself to his full height and scowled down at Jess.

Jess sighed, "You know, Beano, that whole glaring and towering over me will only get you so far."

Dean ignored him. "So I made a mistake. I'll get her back. We're friends now, did you know? I'll take her away from you, just like you took her away from me."

Jess smirked. "Resorting to my ways, huh? You must be desperate. Anyway, I'm not worried if you're 'friends.' You're forgetting one thing. She's already been with you. She knows what she's missing – _nothing_."

At that, Dean raised his fist, ready to punch. Jess's eyebrows rose and he asked, "Is the first thing you want to do after Rory agreed to being friends with you less than twelve hours ago is hit her boyfriend?"

Dean paused for a moment and gave Jess a chance to slip away. He glanced back and saw Dean staring intently at the brick wall. In a flash, he had grunted and kicked it forcefully before walking away. Jess smirked again before he returned to the diner.

* * *

**Soundtrack:** _Trucker Hat_ by Bowling for Soup; _Hey Leonardo _by Blessid Union of Souls; _I'm Gonna Be_ by The Proclaimers; _Just the Girl_ by The Click Five; _Jessie's Girl_ by Rick Springfield

**References**: _Pete and Pete_; _Keenan and Kel_; _Nickelodeon_; Gushers; _Legally Blonde_; _They Cage the Animals at Night_ (awesome book, I highly recommend it); _The Office_ (the only one not explicitly stated; who picked up on it?); and Beano.

A note on references: The story takes place at the time when the show was on TV, but I can't be bothered to work out when things took place. So if something is chronologically amiss (such as my _The Office_ allusion), please just go with it.

**Author's Note**:

Hey everybody, thanks for the reviews! I hope you all had a great summer. I actually finished this chapter back in July but haven't had the chance to type it up. Sorry about that. There are a few things I wanted to ask you about.

First, this is the first chapter that I wrote specifically for _Gilmore Girls_. Do the characters seem somewhat in-character.

Two (related to the first): the first scene was a bit random. I though of it because in one of other stories I wanted to describe a character's face and I wanted to use the word "carrot," but I didn't because I felt it would not fit in with that story. But I thought with GG I might be able to get away with some strange things. Did it work, or was it too weird?

Three: Do you guys have any song suggestions? I have several chapter titles picked already but I need more for my soundtrack, haha. Keep in mind that I will be using scenes from the show soon and will be using every episode with Jess in it from at least "Keg! Max!" The basic story line will be the same but with changes where I want them.

Thanks for all your help and please review!


	4. It's Beginning to Get to Me

**The All-American Reject**

By stella maynard

**Disclaimer:** Alas, no. I do not own anything. I'm heartbroken, really.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all your support, guys! I'm sorry this has taken so long to get up, but school gets in the way of things. But do not fret, I've been thinking about this story all the time, so I have basic story lines and scenes planned out already, it's just a matter of putting them down on paper. And I promise once winter break comes around, I will devote the majority of my free time to this story so I'll have things to update. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.

**Chapter 4: It's Beginning to Get to Me**

Jess sat on the Gilmore's couch while Rory leaned against him, a copy of _The Red Pony_ lay ignored in her hands. He was doing his best to read _Cry, the Beloved Country_, but Lorelai's recount of her latest dream persisted in breaking his concentration.

"And then," she narrated, "I floated down the staircase and found myself surrounded by many, _many_ admirers and buggage." She paused, looking confused.

Rory raised her eyebrows and even Jess gave up his pretence of reading to repeat, "Buggage?"

Lorelai blinked, trying to clear her thoughts. "I think I started to say 'bags' or 'baggage' or something," she explained slowly, seeming to be working out what had happened herself, "but I switched to 'luggage.' And then I just squished the two together."

Jess rolled his eyes and returned to his book while Lorelai continued with her story.

After twenty minutes Jess glanced at his watch and stood up. He said to Rory, "I've got to go now."

He gave a nod to Lorelai, who was still sprawled across the arm chair facing the couch, before heading towards the front door. Rory stood up and followed him.

He turned to his girlfriend at the door as he put on his jacket. She asked him, "Are we doing anything tonight?"

"Can't," Jess replied. "I've got things to do."

Rory seemed to be waiting for an explanation but, when none appeared, she said quietly, "Oh."

Jess looked at her. "How about tomorrow?"

"Okay," she nodded.

He gave her a kiss and walked out the door.

* * *

Later that night, Jess pulled into a parking spot near the school. He opened the car's trunk and threw in that stupid blue vest, the nauseatingly cheerful nametag still attached. He had a double shift tomorrow, which meant he'd have to skip school again. Whatever. If he kept up with his hours, he thought he had a good shot at being named "Employee of the Month." He'd get his picture up on the wall and, of course, the bonus.

He needed that money so he could take Rory to prom. God, she and Lane had been talking about that dance forever. But he'd already promised to take her. She could make him do nearly anything. When she'd told him of her plans, she'd been so nervous. There was doubt in her eyes, she was fidgeting with her hands, and she was worrying her lip. What she did to him without even knowing it…he had agreed without a thought. Now, he needed money. And that's where Wal-Mart came in. He hated it there, but at least he didn't have to talk to anyone and the pay was decent.

After Jess closed the trunk, he began to walk back to the diner. About a block away, he saw Rory, Lane, and Dean stepping out from his destination. Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell they'd been laughing and talking. A couple of minutes later, Dean went his separate way while the two girls headed to Lane's home. Glowering in Dean's general direction, Jess changed his intentions of heading home and went to the park instead.

When he reached the bridge where he had so many memories with Rory, he sat down and pulled out an almost new pack of cigarettes that he had bought over a week ago. Putting one in his mouth, he lit it up and inhaled. As he slowly let the smoke escape, he felt his nerves calming down. True, he still wanted to beat Dean to a pulp, but he had stopped imagining particularly violent methods that would likely end in the imbecile's death and his ending up in jail for twenty to life. He was legally considered an adult after all. Best be prudent. Surrounded in a smoky haze, he began to dream of ways to make the bag boy disappear.

* * *

His car was still missing. Ever since the stupid ceremony where he had been given the bonus check and where Luke had surprisingly shown up, Jess had no ways of getting to work in Wal-Mart. It was too far to walk and Luke wouldn't let him use his truck and of course nobody in Stars Hollow who had a car trusted him enough to let him use theirs. So he was stuck.

The only good that came out of this situation was he could spend more time with Rory. He had tried to make up for his lack of being around by getting them tickets to a concert where the Distillers were playing in Hartford. He couldn't find her for a while, but he finally discovered her leaving one of Dean's hockey games. He didn't say anything to her about her location, but it had been gnawing at the back of his mind ever since.

Jess was paying for a video at the store when he saw Rory and Lane walking by. After taking his change, he walked out and called, "Hey! I got the video for tonight."

Rory stopped. "What'd you get?"

He held up the tape. "_Almost Famous_."

"No, not again," Rory complained.

"I can't help it, I'm addicted."

Rory sighed. "Fine, but if I'm watching Kate Hudson commit suicide again, we're ordering Indian food."

Jess groaned. "Come on."

"Hey, last night when we watched _Ed Wood_, we ate burgers like you wanted," she countered.

"Fine," Jess replied. "Tonight, Indian food. But tomorrow, _Saturday Night Fever_ and Thai food. And we'll have to watch John Travolta at my place because we'll have to burn your house down to get rid of the smell."

Lane grinned. "That's so cute. You guys are like an old, agoraphobic couple."

Jess smirked, slightly embarrassed. He had forgotten that she was there. "Thank you very much."

Lane left with a quick goodbye. Jess put his arm around Rory's waist and she played with his hand as they walked.

"So," Jess drawled. "It's been a few days since you decided. You still going to Yale?"

Rory nodded. "Yep. It's got all the classes I want, some really great professors, and, you know, as an added bonus, it's really close to here."

"Twenty-two point eight miles," he supplied.

Rory paused. "What? How'd you know that?"

"Do you Yahoo?"

"You looked it up," she stated, her tone slightly amazed.

"Yeah."

"You looked it up," she repeated teasingly.

"I hit a couple of buttons on a computer, it's no big deal," Jess countered, his tone defensive.

"You looked it up."

"I was bored! There was nothing on TV. I had nothing better to do, that's it!"

"You looked it up."

He pulled her into him and placed a kiss on the top of her head, deciding not to say anything else about the subject. He gently tugged her hair. He loved her hair. He always had a thing for long hair.

"What about you?" she asked. "Have you decided where you're going next year?"

He sighed. "Rory, I told you," he said patiently. "Once I graduate, I'm done. That's it. Call it torture, call it university. It's not for me. Arts and crafts are all I need. I'll take calligraphy and make a fake degree. Would that make you happy?"

She laughed first, but then replied, "You're going to have to stop dancing through life at some point, Jess. Those who don't try never look foolish, but nobody really cares what they think. Even celebrities with three brain cells are attached to some kind of cause. Look at Richard Gere or Tom Cruise. Even Jessica Simpson is fighting acne with Proactiv."

Jess glanced at her. "First of all, I don't dance, literally or figuratively speaking. And are you comparing me to those madmen? That's almost worse than telling me I'm like Bible Boy and those other trust fund babies at your school."

"Don't worry," she giggled. "You don't have a BMW or a Porsche. Actually, you don't have a car at all at the moment, not to mention several designer ones, one for each day of the week."

"Don't remind me," Jess groaned. He opened the door to the diner. "After you."

Rory grinned as she passed him. "Thank you, kind sir."

She sat on a stool at the counter while Jess walked behind it and pulled out a mug and placed it in front of her, filling it to the brim with coffee. She pulled it eagerly to her and inhaled deeply. A satisfied smile slowly made its way onto her face as her eyes fluttered shut. Jess watched her with an amused look on his face.

"Are you done with your dirty dreams involving you and coffee?" he queried.

Her eyes snapped open and a slight blush made its way onto her cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with fantasizing about coffee," she defended.

"It isn't healthy. You should be thinking about other things." He leaned forward and gave her a slow, gentle kiss.

When he pulled away, Rory's face was completely red. Smirking, he walked over to the register to help Kirk. When he returned, Rory seemed calmer, although she wouldn't quite meet his eyes.

"So what are your plans this afternoon?" he asked her.

Sighing, she answered, "Studying. I have a chemistry test tomorrow, a French quiz the next day, and, next Monday, I've got to give another speech to give with Paris, and she wants to go over it tomorrow during lunch."

"That school really doesn't believe in giving you guys a life, does it?"

"Our life consists of enriching our brains and, for social purposes, I could always join the _Puffs_," she stated, rolling her eyes slightly at the last word.

Jess looked at her. "Like the tissues?"

She burst into a laugh. "No, it's like the high school version of a sorority. They asked me to join sophomore year and I would've if we hadn't been caught in the Headmaster's office right before ringing the bell."

"What are you talking about? I'd never pictured you as a sorority girl."

"Yeah, right. Maybe Paris, Lane, and I can start our own sorority. We'll be the Gamma Gamma Gammas."

"Why?"

"You know how during the American Revolution they said 1777 meant the gallows? Well, a capital gamma is almost the same thing, just backwards. We'll be the most sarcastic, unpleasant sorority girls you'll ever meet."

Jess smirked. "Paris, at least. She bit my head off when I told her I thought that Austen used too many commas. So back to these Puffs."

"Oh, yeah. Headmaster Charleston didn't like my lack of a social life because I would listen to music and read during lunch and he had me talk to the school shrink. So I sat down with this random group of girls during lunch. By the way, one of the girl's name was Lem, as in Lemon. And they asked me to join and I pretty much had to what with the school principal watching me. So we broke into his office one night where we were supposed to pledge and ring this bell. Just as I was reciting the most idiotic pledge poem ever, the headmaster pops up and threatens all of us with detention and possible suspension. And then I was free to go and enjoy my books during lunch."

Jess, who had turned away for a while, but indicating that Rory should continue with her story, came back with a plate of fries. His eyebrows rose, a small smirk at his mouth. "Huh. You were going to be in a sorority."

Rory grinned and pointed a fry at him threateningly. "Watch it, mister, or I'll sic Paris on you."

"So, studying?"

"Studying," she nodded. "Not all of us can have memories like Cam Jensen."

Jess ran a hand through his gelled hair. "Ok, I'm feeling stupid today. Who's Cam Jensen?"

"Don't worry, Jess," she consoled, her tone mocking. "Not everyone can understand my pop culture references. I'm just more talented that way." She grinned when he rolled his eyes before continuing, "Seriously, you should see my grandmother at Friday night dinners with me and my mom. She never knows what's going on. Cam Jensen is a pre-teen detective with a photographic memory. She'd see something, concentrate on it, say '_Click!'_" Rory demonstrated. "And she'd be able to remember everything in perfect detail. I wish I could do that," she sighed.

Jess watched her as she sipped her coffee. "Yeah, ok. You don't even need to go to classes to get those A's. Why bother?"

"Because I like school and am not to keen on talking with that guidance counselor again. I haven't been called in to see her since my Puff days and I plan on keeping it that way. You haven't been told to come visit yours in a while?"

"Nope," he lied easily. "Everything's great. I'm brilliant." His smirk appeared again.

Rory rolled her eyes. "All right, Einstein. I've gotta go. You're gonna get the prom tickets soon?"

"Jeez. Stop worrying so much. I'll get them sometime this week. They've only been on sale since Monday. It's Wednesday now in case you've forgotten. They're gonna be selling them forever."

She scrunched up her nose a little. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just so excited. Lane and I've been pla-"

"Planning this since second grade," Jess interrupted her. "I know. Don't worry." He gave her a quick kiss. "Go study," he instructed sternly.

"Sir, yes, sir," Rory saluted, standing up. She walked to the door, giving him a grin over her shoulder before she left. Jess stared at where she had been long after she'd disappeared.

* * *

**Soundtrack**:

"It's Beginning to Get to Me" by Snow Patrol; "Shooting Stars" by Cauterize; "Extraordinary Girl" by Green Day; "I Melt with You" by Bowling for Soup or I don't remember who sang it first; "I'd Do Anything" by Simple Plan

**References:** _The Red Pony_ by John Steinbeck; _Cry, the Beloved Country_ by Alan ; The Distillers; _Almost Famous; Ed Wood; Saturday Night Fever;_ "College Kids" by Relient K; "Dancing Through Life" by the cast of _Wicked_ (I saw this recently and…wow. If you like musicals, I seriously recommend this one. I detest _The Wizard of Oz_, I mean really hate it. If I ever see it on TV, I change the channel immediately. The Munchkins, Dorothy's voice, the Lion, the wizard, everything about this movie except Toto annoys me. Yet I loved this play and it made me want to read the books by Gregory Maguire and watch the movie one last final time to catch all the references made in the play.); Proactiv; BMW; Porsche; Kleenex brand Puffs tissues; Cam Jensen (books by David Adler)

**Author's Note:** Lucy, I'm home! Haha, sorry about that, I couldn't resist. Anyway, a few things. I know this chapter is a fairly long time in coming but this is the first time I've had a free moment in a while. And it'll be my last one for the next two weeks and then…winter break! Four weeks of relaxation, plus other stuff, which I'm choosing to ignore at the moment. So you should have another chapter I hope in not too long. But I got this one out before December; that counts for something right?

Anyway, I'm not too happy with my soundtrack but I like having one every chapter. Please, suggestions. I know this chapter is still short, but it's setting the scene for the next chapter – _Keg! Max!_ Yes, the time has finally arrived.

I'm excited, hehe. I've been thinking about this story for a long time and I have so many random scenes with all the references my heart desires written out and I can't wait to use them later. I'm also excited that when I go home, I get to drive again. My car is a little silver Prius, just like Rory. What a coinky-dink! (If you can't tell, I'm really, _really_ excited that I'm not doing work right now. Last night I got 9 hours of sleep, which was more than the two nights before that combined. I love all-nighters!) So please review, tell me I'm crazy, give me some song choices, let me know about your life, constructive criticism, whatever you like! I'll see you soon!


	5. It Ends Tonight

**The All-American Reject**

By stella maynard

**Disclaimer:** If you recognize it, I don't own it. But the slight rearranging of the timeline is my fault.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for coming back you guys! Please read my important note at the end. I have questions I would love advice on.

* * *

**Chapter 5:** It Ends Tonight

"_I pledge allegiance…_"

Jess stared out the window of homeroom. They still had another five languages to go through before anything that might be of interest to him was discussed, so he slumped down in his seat, the only one in the room not standing and droning out the same phrases that for some reason need to be stated every morning for the past twelve years. Brainwashed idiots. Thank God for freedom of speech; it allowed him to protest by sitting. Not that he actually cared either way.

Not long later, his homeroom teacher placed yet another pink slip in front of him. He rolled his eyes and continued thinking about what he had to do that day. Prom tickets were first on his list. If he didn't get them, he was fairly certain Rory would kill him. The Gilmores could be violent, especially when they did not have coffee.

He took the pink paper and folded it into a perfect paper football. He held it in place on his desk with his finger and aimed. _Ploink!_ Chuck Presby swung his head around, glaring, searching for the person who was responsible for the little thump on his head. Jess smirked, before pulling out a novel from his back pocket.

When the bell rang, he pocketed the book and headed to his next class, making sure to shoulder Dean on his way out. Arriving early to English, he slumped down in his usual seat (second row from the window, next to last seat) and picked up where he left off in his story. Lane appeared a minute later and looked around. He nodded at her in acknowledgement. Instead of taking her usual place, she made a beeline for the seat behind him.

Leaning forward, she said, "Hey, Jess. Rory told me to remind you that you need to buy the tickets to prom today. If you don't, the cannibals from _State of Fear_ are going to look like fun-loving preschool students." Jess rolled his eyes. Behind him, Lane continued without hesitation, "Don't roll your eyes. I think she might be exaggerating, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it'll be fun. Think _Footloose_ meets the Ramones' 'Rock 'N' Roll High School.'"

The teacher entered the room and called on Lindsay Lister to come up to the front of the class, where she proceeded to talk about _Anthem_. Lane scooted lower in her seat and continued.

"Mama Kim is basically expecting a scene out of _Carrie_, but of course she's never seen the movie or read the book because that would require her to believe that Stephen King is not damned," she declared in a whisper. Jess smirked and threw a glance over his shoulder.

Lane rolled her eyes before settling back in her seat, listening to Lindsay drone on about the power of self.

Jess continued to read until he felt someone poke him with a pencil. He turned and glared at Lane. "What?" he demanded in a whisper.

Her eyes widened behind her glasses and she glanced pointedly at the teacher. Jess turned and saw Ms. Jacobs staring at him. "It's your turn for the presentation, Mr. Mariano. This can't have been a shock to you. Alphabetical order rarely leaves room for an element of surprise. Get up to the front of the class now," she said, her gray hair falling into her eyes. She brushed it aside impatiently.

"Yes, ma'am," Jess replied. "Let me just grab my notes."

He bent down to look through a notebook on the ground for some loose paper, whispering to Lane, "What's the presentation on?"

"Any famous book by an American author," she replied quietly.

Jess smirked, grabbed his math test, picked up his copy of Ellison's _Invisible Man_ that he had been reading earlier, and headed to the front of class.

* * *

During lunch, Jess saw the student council had set up a table in the cafeteria to sell tickets. Dana was there, flirting with the vice-president.

Jess paid for his lunch and headed to a quiet corner of the cafeteria where he continued to read while eating. After twenty minutes, he tossed away the leftover apple core and walked to the growing line of students waiting to buy tickets. He continued to read until he found himself in front of Dana, who gave him a bright smile.

"Hey, Jess," she greeted. "Here to buy your prom tickets?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, line fetish, remember?"

Dana's smile tightened. "Of course. How could I forget?" She began flipping through the pages looking for his name, talking at the same time. "Well, the prom's in two weeks and, even though it'll be in the gym, it's gonna be a black tie affair. So you're going to need a tux. No exceptions." She gave him a glare, remembering his sneakers at the Fall Formal.

"James Bond," he archly replied.

"What? Whatever. Anyway, the dance begins at – Oh. Hmm. That's strange," she broke off, staring at the page.

Jess continued to ignore her until she addressed him directly. "I can't sell you any tickets, Jess. You need to go talk to Principal Merton." She gave him a fake cheery smile. "Good luck!"

He didn't say anything as he turned around and walked out of the cafeteria. Dana watched with a small smirk making its way across her striking features.

Jess pushed the cafeteria doors opening and headed towards the principal's office, completely ignoring the yells of the hallway monitors behind him, demanding his pass. Entering the main administrative office, he went straight to the principal's personal secretary. "I need to see him," he stated.

Mrs. Wilson looked up from her book and waved in the general direction of the door, giving him permission to go ahead.

_Tap tap tap_. "Come in," called a man's voice from behind the door.

Jess turned the knob and walked in. "I was just trying to buy prom tickets and they told me to go see you."

Principal Merton, who had been rummaging through a file cabinet, looked up. "Well, well. Jess Mariano. What a pleasure. Sit down."

"I'd rather stand."

The principal shrugged and sat himself down behind his desk. "So, the prom, huh? I wouldn't have taken you for someone who'd want to go to prom."

"My girlfriend wants to," Jess explained.

"Well, that's too bad," the older man stated. "The thing is, Mr. Mariano, prom is for graduating seniors only." Jess continued to look at him. The principal reiterated, "You flunked out. Thirty-one days you've been out. Cutoff's twenty. Guess your girlfriend's outta luck."

Jess protested, "Now wait a minute, I'm just a little behind. I can catch up, no sweat. I'm smarter than everyone else here."

"Humble too," muttered the principal under his breath.

Jess ignored him and continued, his voice growing louder, "Haven't you ever heard of warning a guy?"

"You mean the nine warning slips we gave you weren't enough? All the meetings I tried to set up between you and the guidance counselor, between you and me that you blew off, that wasn't warning enough?" demanded Principal Merton, his eyebrows raised. He sighed, "I've no doubt you'd be our valedictorian if you'd only applied yourself. I'm sorry, Jess, but you're not graduating."

At the mention of "valedictorian," Jess's thoughts jumped to Rory. "Fine, I'll take summer school if that's what you want."

"Good, but not good enough. You need to redo the whole year."

"The whole year?" scoffed Jess. "No way."

"Then no diploma."

Jess felt himself beginning to get desperate. "At least let me go to prom, what's the big deal? I've already rented the tux. Besides, it's not for me. I'd rather be at home reading _The Great Gatsby_ than seeing the people who pollute these halls. But my girlfriend wants to go. My girlfriend, Rory Gilmore – remember her? You wrote her a letter of recommendation to get into Chilton," Jess almost pleaded, surprised he had said so much at once. It must've been the desperation.

He could see Principal Merton hesitate ever so slightly, giving him a moment of hope. This hope was dashed when he saw the older man slowly, sadly shake his head. "I _am_ sorry, Mr. Mariano, but we're done here."

Jess glared up at the man in front of him. "I'm not going to miss this place," he spat. He pulled the door open, then slammed it shut as he stalked through the office into the now no longer deserted hallways. He leaned against the wall as his fellow students chattered around him.

_Crap._

* * *

The diner was in one of its weird lulls, with only the two Gilmore girls as customers. Rory stared at her mother enrapt, eating her burger while Lorelai told the story of her day. Jess, something else clearly on his mind, tried to act normal while listening to Lorelai's ramblings and picking at Rory's fries.

"And then I remembered that we had no food at the house, so I decided to stop at the supermarket and pick up some essentials. The place was _packed_ and I – "

Rory interrupted her mother, "Wait a sec. You went to an actual market to pick up food?" Lorelai nodded. "Like what? We can't cook."

Lorelai gasped, holding her hand to her chest. "Loin fruit, I'm hurt. I'll have you know it takes serious skill to get a Pop-Tarttoasted just right." Rory rolled her eyes, an action her mother ignored. "Anyway, as I was saying, it was packed. There were hardly any carts, but I spotted one lonely, slightly crippled, cart by the entrance. I had almost reached it when this lady rushed to it from I don't know where and takes it from me. So I'm standing there, shocked, and I cross my arms and glare at her. I think she felt the hatred I was shooting at her because she turned to look at me and said, 'Wow. You're absolutely gorgeous.'"

"Aw, Mom, was she cute?" giggled Rory.

"I think she might've said it to make me forget that she literally just stole the only free cart from me right under my nose. But seriously, what am I supposed to say to that? 'Thanks, but you're not my type'?"

"What did you say?" asked Jess, slightly distracted from his own problems.

Lorelai grinned. "I said, 'Well, I've been proposed to three times and I still have never been married. Why don't we give it a shot?' She got scared after that and ran away, leaving me the cart."

Jess smirked while his girlfriend laughed. After a moment, Rory thought over her mother's story. "But, Mom, you haven't been proposed to three times. Just Dad and Max."

Lorelai finished her cup of coffee and gave Jess her puppy dog eyes. "Nope. Three is right," she explained as Jess filled up her cup. "Your dad sorta proposed when he found out I was pregnant. It was more of an I-guess-we-should-get-hitched kind of thing. Real romantic, your father, kid. Then Luke, about two years ago. And then Max and we all know how that ended up."

The two teenagers stared at her as she drank her coffee. Rory got her voice back first. "What!? Luke?!" she yelped.

At the sound of her scream, Luke ran out of the storage room where he was doing inventory and into the diner. "What?! What's wrong?" he panted.

Jess turned to his uncle. "What did Nicole say about this? How did I not know you asked Lorelai to marry you?" he demanded.

Confused, Luke turned towards Lorelai who waved at him with a smile on her face from behind her coffee cup. "I never asked you to marry me."

"Yes, you did," she insisted. "It was right before Rory's sixteenth birthday. I was in the diner waiting for Rory to come and I told you that you would have to entertain me until she arrived. Then you popped the question."

The description obviously rang a bell as Luke shook his head. "And I told you I was just looking for something to shut you up," he argued.

"Psh, details," Lorelai said, literally waving away his argument with her hand. "Besides, diner man, I know you wanted me to say yes."

With a roll of his eyes and a readjustment of his baseball cap, Luke muttered, "Jeez. I'm going back to the storage room." He turned to his nephew. "Let me know if I'm actually needed out here."

Jess nodded with a smirk, noticing the red creeping up his uncle's neck.

Lorelai drained the last of her coffee and placed her money on the counter. "It still counts," she stated. "I'm heading back to the Inn. I'll see you back at the house, babe. Bye, Jess," she threw over her shoulder, heading out the door.

Rory smiled at her boyfriend. "I should probably go, too. I told Lane I'd stop by for the band's final practice before their gig tonight. Speaking of which, will you be off by seven? Remember, we promised we'd help set up. I've got the cymbals."

He nodded. Rory beamed at him and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "Great, I'll see you here around then." And with that she skipped out of her seat and left.

Jess watched her go, his dark mood quickly returning.

* * *

"You guys are going to be awesome," Rory exclaimed. "What do you think, Jess?"

Jess, who'd been leaning against the wall as the band set up in Kyle's living room, nodded. "You look like a band to me."

"All right," Dave congratulated his fellow musicians. "Now the only thing keeping us from fortune and fame is our lack of a name."

"I made my suggestion," reminded Brian.

"Dude, we already nixed the Harry Potters," groaned Zach.

"Why?"

"Because it's stupid, man."

"Besides, there's already a band with a really similar name – Harry and the Potters. We don't want to seem like we're copying them. We play rock, not wizard rock," Lane consoled a slightly upset Brian.

"And there's also another band called Draco and the Malfoys," added Rory, somewhat irrelevantly.

Jess rolled his eyes.

"I still say," began Zach, "Follow Them to the Edge of the Desert is memorable and classy."

Brian protested, "I run out of breath every time I say it."

"You've got asthma. You run out of breath every time you open your mouth," argued Zach hotly.

"He's right, man," Dave agreed. "We can't pick our name around your respiratory illnesses."

Brian remained unbothered by his bandmates. "Still, even without an inhaler, Follow Them to the Edge of the Desert is too long. And don't say that our fans will shorten it to FTTTEOTD once we're famous," he snapped at Zach, seeing him about to interrupt. "That saves about two little syllables. It's like people saying FB instead of Facebook. It still takes the same amount of effort," he finished, quickly pulling out his inhaler.

Dave turned to Rory and Jess. "Do you guys have any suggestions?"

"Oh, we wouldn't dare," she replied, tugging on Jess's hand, pulling him towards the kitchen. She called to the still nameless, arguing band, "We'll be back when you guys go on."

As the couple walked away, they heard something about slashing windmills, Milli Vanilli, and miniature date palms. Entering the kitchen, they saw Kyle and Marshall storing snow globes under the sink. "Need any help stashing the valuables, Kyle?" Rory asked.

"Nope, we're good. We only have a couple Hummels left to hide," he answered smiling. "Hey! Careful, Marshall. Boy with a Toothache is Mom's favorite."

As Kyle ran off, Rory pulled Jess over to the table where all the chips were left. She opened one of the bags and held it out to him. "Want one?" she offered.

Jess shook his head. Rory shrugged before plunging her hand into the bag. "I'm going to fill up before these chips become a toilet."

"Thanks for the visual."

Rory unconcernedly munched on her Lays, shooting an occasional confused glance at Jess who was seated on a chair, staring off into space. Slowly, the house began to fill up, people were chatting, others were standing against the wall, not knowing what they were supposed to do next.

"I'm going to go see how Lane's doing," Rory announced, finally putting down the nearly empty bag of chips as Jess nodded absentmindedly.

Moments later, a cheer went up through the house. The yelling got louder as high school boys chanted, "Keg! Keg!" heading to the kitchen. Jess barely heard Kyle telling Marshall to find the swim towels over Rick's continuous exclamation of "Twenty-one! Whooo!"

Jess went in search of his girlfriend. He found her, as promised, with the band. She was holding a thermos and talking with Brian. As he approached, Young Chui asked Lane, "How about you, Lane? You need water or anything?"

Dave tensed and interrupted, "Uh, Young Chui, you should probably stay away from the band area. We got a lot of cords and stuff, and I don't want you to get electrocuted and die."

The young Asian boy looked taken aback and stammered, "O-okay. I'll go save you a good seat for when you have a break, Lane."

Lane waved at him and continued to practice the band's songs without actually hitting her drums. Jess walked over to Rory who was watching the evening unfold. "Why are we here so early? There's almost nobody here."

"We're with the band. We're the roadies and the sound crew, and I'm advising Lane on makeup and I'm the keeper of Brian's sandwich and thermos," she replied, waving said thermos in the air. "We're very busy and important backstage people."

"We're dork-early," he dryly stated.

Rory sighed and nudged him playfully. "Come on, get into the spirit of things. Hello, Cleveland!"

Smirking, Jess moved away to another room. "Guess I can wander a bit," he said.

She smiled. "Good. Go schmooze, gloomy."

He glared at her before going back to the kitchen, where he was met with an amusing sight. Four guys were standing around the keg, staring at it.

"Hey. What's up with you guys?"

"Stupid keg," Kyle grunted.

"It's not working," Marshall whined.

"Well, where's the tap?" Jess asked.

Kyle looked at him. "The what?"

"It's a keg. It's sealed," Jess explained. "You have to hook up a tap and pump the beer out."

Kyle turned to his cousin and accused, "I told you that thing in the bag did something."

Rick pulled the tap out of the bag and shrugged, "No instructions."

Not bothering to hide the roll of his eyes, Jess pushed two of the guys out of the way and attached the tap to the keg, grumbling a disbelieving, "Jeez." He handed the pump to Marshall. "Here, start pumping."

The boy grinned. "All right. To Jess!" he proclaimed lifting the pump in the air.

The others soon began to exclaim "To Jess" as well.

"Yeah. Me and Springsteen, the working man's hero," he muttered, leaving them to their pumping.

As he made his way back to the living room, where Rory was nervously announcing the still nameless band, he saw Dean coming through the front door. Holding his hand was that girl Lindsay from his English class. She looked slightly uncomfortable but was smiling awkwardly at the tall boy at her side.

Jess decided to ignore the couple, not really in the mood to pick a fight. However, when Rory made her way over to him thirty minutes later, she had a completely different idea.

"Come on, let's go say hi," she suggested, tugging lightly on his arm. "And be nice. Remember, Dean and I are friends again."

He grunted in response.

Rory walked up a little shyly to Dean and Lindsay. "Hey, guys," she greeted. They responded in kind. Feeling the awkward silence, she continued, gesturing towards the living room, "So, Lindsay, what do you think of Lane's band?"

"I like 'em. But I don't really know any of the songs they've been playing," she answered.

Dean explained. "She's not a music freak like you."

"Well, we can't all be freaks," Rory nodded sagely. "What kind of music do you like?"

Looking slightly flustered, Lindsay replied, "I don't know…uh, Michelle Branch, Matchbox 20."

"Jeez," Jess scoffed, rolling his eyes and looking away.

Rory nudged him lightly with her elbow, still trying to be polite. "I like them, too. I mean, I like all kinds of things."

Lindsay turned to Jess. "You used to go to our school."

"He still goes," Rory corrected her.

"Really?" sneered Dean. "Haven't seen you around much lately."

"What are you, the attendance monitor? Going to put me in detention?" Jess demanded.

"Jess!" Rory admonished.

"Whatever. I'm going to see what's holding this line up."

As Jess walked away, he heard Rory defend him. (She sighed, "He's not feeling well.") He realized he had no desire to be around these people anymore and decided to find a little quiet. Climbing the stairs, the noise began to fade away. The second floor was empty and he went into one of the bedrooms and shut the door, sitting in the darkness.

A while later, he heard a light knock on the door and Rory cautiously stuck her head in. "There you are," she stated. "Young Chui said he saw you going up here."

Turning back to the window, Jess replied, "Just got tired of everything down there."

Walking towards him, she asked with a slightly worried tone, "Are we allowed to be up here? Kyle was kinda discouraging it."

"When you have a party, you get what you get," he shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sad boy, what's wrong? You were looking forward to this party."

Jess always found denial to be a useful strategy. Why abandon something that had worked so well in the past? "Nothing."

Rory sat on his lap and stroked his hair, her eyes shining. "Something did. Come on, tell me."

Jess replied by kissing her lightly.

"You're not tired to me, are you?" she teased.

His arms tightened around her as he kissed her again. She pulled away for a second. "That's a pretty good answer, I guess."

He guided her to a standing position, his lips never leaving hers. He slowly led her towards the bed, then gently lowered her down. His kisses became more intense. He ran his hands lightly up her sides, under her jacket, as she ran her fingers through his hair, holding him tightly to her. He forgot about his day when he kissed her; he was completely in the moment.

Slowly, he positioned himself above her on the bed and his lips began to place feather light kisses on her face and the crook of her neck. She responded, sighing in pleasure. As her hands ran up and down his back, he returned to kissing her lips, urgently now. With his right arm pinned beneath her, holding him up, his left hand trailed down to her hips. Her shirt had risen slightly, allowing his hand to caress the smooth, previously covered, skin. His hand drifted slowly to her belt.

"Jess, wait…Jess, wait," she mumbled against his lips. He ignored her, his hand trying to figure out how to undo the buckle. Spooked, Rory pushed him and jumped away from the bed. Jess groaned in frustration, running his fingers through his hair.

"Not here, not now," she exclaimed, startled.

"Fine," he stated, cutting her off.

Pushing her hair back behind her ears, she stepped towards him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. You wanted to stop, we stopped."

Her voice started to rise with panic. "Someone could've walked through that door," she said, pointing.

"And Santa Claus could've slid down the chimney, whatever."

"You didn't seriously think it was going to happen like this, did you?"

He collapsed back into the chair he had been occupying earlier, dropping his head into his hands. "I don't know what I think anymore," he said softly, more emotion slipping into his voice than he intended.

She took another step towards him. "Jess," she whispered in concern.

He couldn't take it anymore. All the disappointment he felt in himself, the betrayal, the panic, came rushing back. "Rory, stop, just stop!" he snapped, his voice cracking. The room was dark, making it impossible for her to see the expression, the desperation, in his usually reserved eyes. "I did not invite you up here! You came up on your own."

His face may have been hidden in the shadows, but the moonlight allowed him to clearly see the tears streaming down her face.

_Fuck_.

"I don't know what I did," she sobbed, her hands running over her hair, before turning to run out of the room.

Jess sighed. "You didn't do anything," he whispered, but she was no longer in the room. He saw her hair whip around the door. "Shit."

He got up and ran towards the door, calling, "Rory!"

Running down the stairs, he saw her almost literally crying on Dean's shoulder. He tried to slow his descent, the apology that had been ready on his lips forgotten.

He threw a contemptuous glance at Rory and glared at Dean. "Figures," he muttered, hurt, turning his back on them.

He heard Rory yell, "Dean, no!" a moment before he was jumped on from behind and he crashed to the ground. As he quickly twisted to get his arm around Dean's neck, chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" instantly arose from the crowd they drew. Pulling himself off the ground, Jess charged the much taller boy, causing the two to fall through the swinging door and unfortunately onto Dave and Young Chui who landed in a sprawl on the ground.

Dean pushed Jess off, swinging his right fist towards his opponent's head. Jess swerved, but Dean ran into him immediately after, propelling Jess through the still closed front door. _CRACK!_ Pushing himself off the lawn, Jess threw himself at Dean, who grunted in pain but brought the shorter boy to the ground with him. Wrestling on the ground, throwing as many punches as he received, Jess ignored Rory's pleas to stop and the attempts of his classmates to pull the two boys apart.

Finally, Dean's friend Todd launched himself at Jess, who currently had the advantage and was pummeling Dean, and pinned him to the ground. Somebody else came to help hold him back as he tried to get back to the fight. Dean was being kept back by Kyle and, though the look in his eyes was near murderous, he didn't attempt to rush at Jess again.

Jess wiped the blood from his lip as flashing lights appeared on the scene, Rory still yelling frantically, "Guys, stop it!"

"Let go of me!" Jess spat at Todd who hadn't released the clenched fist he had on Jess's shirt, twisting out of his hold.

"Cops," whispered Marshall.

A crash was heard inside the house. Kyle blanched. "Boy with a Toothache," he whispered.

A police man calmly walked towards the crowd. "Okay, dump your cups and go home," he called.

Rory took an uncertain step towards her boyfriend. "Jess…" she trailed off.

He looked at her, his clothes ripped, blood dripping down his face, his eyes emotionless, closed off. He knew she didn't understand what was going on, why he acted like he did. Her turmoil was evident in her blue eyes, bright with anxiety. But he said nothing. He simply turned and walked away from her, away from it all.

She didn't follow him.

**

* * *

**

Soundtrack:

"It Ends Tonight" by The All-American Rejects; "Totally Fucked" by the cast of _Spring Awakening_ (listen to the first few lines, can't you just imagine Jess feeling that way? Though probably not with such a chipper melody); "Night Drive" by The All-American Rejects; and "Run" by Snow Patrol

**References:** _State of Fear_ by Michael Crichton; _Footloose_; "Rock and Roll High School" by the Ramones; _Anthem_ by Ayn Rand; _Carrie_ by Stephen King and the movie based on the book; _Invisible Man_ by Ralph Ellison; James Bond; _The Great Gatsby _by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Pop-Tarts; Harry and the Potters; Draco and the Malfoys; wizard rock; Facebook; Lays potato chips; Bruce Springsteen; Milli Vanilli; Hummels; Michelle Branch; Matchbox 20; and possibly many, many more.

**Thanks to:** Curley-Q (x3), Literati and naley forever (x2), hollowgirl22, dtng4ever, watergurl123, CuriousCaker, Maigu (x3), kaypgirl (x2), Coco x, JessRoryYunaTidusforever (x2), allycat1186, Kassandra27, and FindMeBroken.

**Important Author's Note**: Hi, guys! I'm finally back with a longer than usual chapter (nearly 13 pages – gasp!) to make up for how much I suck. And I realize I suck at writing action scenes, I'm more of a descriptive feelings person. In any case, I refer you to the episode of the third season entitled "Keg! Max!" for what I was basically going for. So I also realized immediately after posting the last chapter that I've been a forgetful jerk who hasn't thanked reviewers. So as you can see, above I thanked everybody for Chapters 2-4 with the number in parentheses indicating more than one review. From now on, I'll thank everybody each chapter, but if you have any specific questions or comments I'll reply through that fun little button.

Secondly, on the topic of reviews, a couple of people mentioned what they want to happen (which I totally encourage!) and it made me realize my summary might be a bit misleading. This is more of a long-term fic, spanning more than one season (I won't specify how many - if you haven't guessed already - so as not to ruin the surprise!). Do you guys think I should change it? Add something to it? Write "Follows Season 3 to Season X"? Let me know!

Thirdly, I'd also appreciate if you guys would all let me know if my writing gets to cheesy. I'm a fan of clichés; I feel they are clichés for a reason. But, while I know this story is not totally original (especially since, as anyone who has read my other stuff would know, I like to take things that originally happened and retell it from somebody else's point of view, with whatever changes I see fit), I'd like it to at least have its moments, even if it's just in supporting characters. So, what I'm asking is from you is to let me know if this story gets too sugary or overdone so I can work on it. Nobody reads the chapters other than me before I update so I'd love some feedback. Merci.

Finally, I made a playlist of the songs for this story. The link is in my profile (let me know if it works – I had serious troubles!) and I'll add songs as I update.

Now, the important stuff has ended, and I just feel like talking. Feel free to leave me now or stick around and get to know me a bit better. 'Tis up to you. So, I just thought I'd like to let you know that I try to insert a bit of myself into most of these characters. I'm trying to stay true to all the characters but insert situations I find myself in. I attempt to limit that with Jess and Rory, because I feel that if I don't, and my personality changes, I might have some difficulties later in the story. I'm most like Lorelai I believe (the quiz I took on Facebook agrees). I like writing her quirkiness (which is why Rory may appear more…_unique_ here than on the show) and use many of the situations I have experienced. For example, the "buggage" dilemma, the Gushers personalities, and a part of the woman in the supermarket story all happened to me. And I personally love throwing out pop culture references. I insert them into almost all my papers. I hope my professors have a sense of humor, because otherwise they may not appreciate my Spider-Man references or my analysis of world politics as represented in _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl_.

Anyway, that's the tidbit about me for this chappie. I'll let you go ahead and review now (hint, hint). I won't make any promises about updating because I probably won't be able to keep it…and that makes me really sad. But I will update eventually, no worries! Love you lots!


	6. Yesterday

**The All-American Reject**

By stella maynard

**Disclaimer:** No. Non. Nein. Nothing. Rien. Zilch. Nada. Let's move on, shall we? And everything you recognize from the show (specifically episode 3x20, a.k.a. "Say Goodnight, Gracie," from which I take _a lot - _really way too much - of dialogue) belongs to not me.

**Author's Note:** **Warning**: I think I slightly mess with the timeline. I hope you can figure it out. If not, let me know so I can try to clear it up. Also, watch out for language. I censor myself for the most part, but not always. (Plus, I, like Jess, am from New York. I curse and I'm pretty certain Jess would too in the situations I'll be putting him in for pretty much the rest of my story.) And another note...when I get around to revising these chapters, it will hopefully be a lot less like the actual episode. However, that won't be for a while. Sorry.

**Chapter 6: Yesterday**

_Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale._

Jess forced himself to remain focused on his breathing, drag after drag, cigarette after cigarette. Finally, after flicking the last butt into the lake, he allowed himself to think.

He'd messed up. Oh, _how_ he'd messed up. If it had just been the fight with Dean, it wouldn't have been so bad. But why did he have to push Rory so hard? He'd always been the instigator of anything between them, besides that first kiss and a couple of others later on. But he'd push her farther, gently, persistently. Eventually, she always gave in. She wanted to. It excited him to know that they were doing things she and Dean never had, that he was the first one to make her blush that way, gasp in surprise and pleasure. He knew she was almost ready to take that final step. He could sense it when she looked at him, her blue eyes darker than normal. She was just waiting for the right time, the right place.

And he'd screwed it up. He supposed if he was looking for an answer to why he pushed her so hard, his self-searching would reveal that he was trying to prove he could still do _one _thing right. And what do you know? He messed it up. Jess Mariano was a complete failure.

Jess pushed himself up off the bridge and looked down at his reflection. A dark figure looked back at him, surrounded by discarded cigarette butts, its face mostly hidden in the shadows created by the bright moon.

He turned his back on the figure and walked away.

* * *

Jess ran around the diner. He was the only one out front handling the busier than usual lunch rush. Caesar was in the kitchen and seemed to be attempting the Guinness record for the longest time taken to make a cheeseburger. He had a really good chance of getting it. Luke was MIA.

Jess dropped a chicken Caesar salad in front of Taylor, who frowned. "Young man –"

"Not now, Taylor," he said tersely, cutting off the town selectman just before the woman at the table by the door once again yelled her demand for ham.

"Caesar, how long does it take to make a stupid hamburger? And where's the ham I've been waiting for? If I don't get that cow pretending to be a lady some ham now, I'm fairly certain she's going to eat me."

The cook shrugged. "No ham," he said casually.

"What? We just got a shipment yesterday."

Another shrug. "No ham."

"Well then get out your sewing kit and starting stitching slices of bacon together. One way or another, Miss Piggy is getting ham."

Stalking over to the man by himself occupying the table for four, he demanded, "You choose yet?"

"What? Oh, um…" The man look startled. "More coffee."

Jess rolled his eyes. "You got it. Glad to make your dining dreams come true."

Behind the counter, Jess turned to Dave, who was wearing a suit and feverishly reading a large book. "Hey, man. You want something to eat?"

Dave looked up, his eyes bloodshot and slightly wild. "No, no. No. Coffee. I just need more coffee." Jess raised his eyebrows but said nothing, simply refilling the mug. Dave blinked and stared at him with a somewhat more focused expression. "Jess. You read. Does 'Let never day nor night unhallow'd pass, but still remember what the Lord hath done' ring any bells?"

After a moment's thought, he shook his head. "Sounds old though," he added.

"I'm reading the Bible. How much older can I get? Does it sound biblical to you?"

Again, the eyebrows rose. "Do I look like I'm familiar with the Bible?"

Blink. "Hmm. Fair point. Let me know if you think of anything, 'kay?" And with that, his head fell back down closer to the large book.

At that moment, Caesar finished making the hamburger, which Jess promptly took to the mafia table, dodging the people impatiently waiting for a seat. As he passed by the door, the woman screeched, "Ham!"

After chucking the plate in front of somebody at the table, he stalked over towards the door, more than ready to give the demanding woman a piece of his mind. However, as he was heading over there, the door flung open, the bells above tinkling, a scowling Luke entering.

Jess strode over to him. "Where've you been, Luke?" he demanded. "You were supposed to be back from fishing an hour ago. But, no, it's just been me and Caesar, who's decided to join the slow food movement," the teenager continued, ranting. "The place is packed. That lady is ready to kill for ham. Dave's been here since I opened, downing coffee and Biblical quotations. And that guy," he gestured towards the man at the table by the door, "has been taking up a table for four and just orders coffee. So I can't turn over the table and collect my tips –"

"You mean _my_ tips," Luke interrupted.

"What?" asked Jess, walking over with the coffee pot to Gypsy who was waving her mug around.

Luke followed. "I didn't go fishing this morning, Jess. I got a call. Somebody named John. He's the father of Kyle. John got home at four this morning and found out his son Kyle threw a party a few days ago. There was a fight. Stop me if this sounds familiar." Jess scowled. "This fight went through the living room, through the front door, and right _through_ the fence. Now, I don't know John and I certainly don't know Kyle, but I do know someone who leaves disaster behind him. He's a surly, James Dean/rebel-without-a-cause wannabe who is going to be paying me back for the next five years!" His voice rose in volume steadily. The whole diner stared and Miss Patty and Babette whispered frantically to one another.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Dean started it."

"I don't care what Dean did! I care what you did! Why were you fighting, Jess?"

"Dean was fighting, too."

"Dean was already at the house when I got there. Dean had already worked out a payment plan. Dean was acting like an adult!"

"Jeez. Dean's whipped. He'll make an excellent pet to some lucky lady someday."

Luke glowered. "Shut up. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to go to school. You're going to come back and work here. You're going to give me all your tips. You're going to do your homework and go to sleep. Then we're going to start all over the next day. Here's what you're not going to do. You're not going to fight with Dean. You're not going to skip class. You're not going to do anything that Miss Manners might find offensive. You got it?" he barked.

Jess glared. "I'm taking my break. You might want to get that woman some ham before she starts throwing things."

With that, he walked out of the diner, slamming the door shut behind him, but not before he heard a loud sigh he was sure was heaved by his uncle.

Not really seeing where he was going, he headed to his bridge and just stared at the water for a while. His mind wandered, for how long he did not know. Absentmindedly, he reached into his jacket pocket, searching for his pack of cigarettes. Only two were left. He smoked both of them before deciding to head back into town to buy some more.

Walking back out into Stars Hollow, Jess did not notice his attire did not stand out as much as it usually did. Most of the town was slowly entering the little church. Everybody was dressed in black. He headed over in that general direction, pulling a cigarette out of a brand new pack and lighting up.

He stopped in front of Weston's. Reading the noticed on the door, he surmised that Fran, the elderly owner, had passed away and that all the people streaming into the church were going to her funeral. Jess felt a twinge of sadness. He hadn't actually known the woman, but she was one of the few who hadn't hated the sight of him, at least once she'd gotten used to him. She actually had smiled at him whenever Rory had insisted they enter, craving a round cake, the roundest cakes Stars Hollow had to offer.

Jess finished his cigarette, dropped it on the ground and crushed the butt with his shoe. He then waited for the streets to empty before making his way to the church himself. Thankful that he was already in black, he opened the door and stood in the back. Nobody noticed him enter.

Eyes taking in the room, he noticed nearly every town member was in attendance. Dean sat in one of the last rows, his arm around a blonde girl. Miss Patty was loudly detailing her sex life with her second husband to Sookie and Lorelai. Rory, sitting quietly next to her mother, blew her nose. He felt a twist of guilt in his stomach.

He hadn't talked to her since Kyle's party a few nights ago. He'd tried, he really did. When he'd seen her passing by the diner the next day, he'd attempted to go after her. First try, he made it past the counter. Second try, the door. The third try, he actually made it out of the diner before he realized he had no idea what to say to her. _I'm sorry I'm such a jackass?_ That excuse is only acceptable a few times and Jess was pretty sure he had already reached his limit. No, that wouldn't do.

Just as the service began, Luke, in a black suit, slipped in and stood next to his nephew, raising his eyebrow at him, but not saying anything. The two stood side by side in silence for the entire service.

When it seemed that everybody was standing up to walk with Fran one final time around town, Jess slipped out the back. He crossed the street and slipped into a shadowed alley where he could still see the door. He would wait until Rory appeared. He had to talk to her. He had no idea what he would say, but that hardly mattered.

People slowly emerged, following the casket. Sookie and Lorelai dashed off to talk to one of the pallbearers, while Rory stayed amongst the crowd. Jess started to walk towards her but quickly retreated when he saw Dean appear by her. She greeted him with a smile and he led her over to near Jess's hiding spot, ensuring he could hear every word that was said.

Dean shifted his weight from foot to foot, apparently very excited. "Okay. Um, are you ready?" he queried.

Confused, Rory repeated, "Ready? Ready for what? Dean, what's going on?"

The tall boy leaned forward and lowered his voice a little. "I asked Lindsay to marry me. And she said yes!"

Jess rolled his eyes. Rory just continued to stare at him, her mouth constantly opening to say something, but nothing would come out.

"Well, say something," he urged.

"Why?" she sputtered.

Now it was Dean who was confused. "Because I love her."

"No, I mean, why _now_? You're just eighteen, you have college in the fall." She looked up at him, worried, "You're still going to go to college, right?" Her panic increased tenfold, unknowingly voicing Jess's thoughts, as she demanded, "Oh my god! She's pregnant!"

Dean frowned, his eyebrows drawing together in disbelief. "Yeah, I'm still going. Lindsay's coming with me. And no, she's not pregnant. Come on, Rory."

She did not appear to be listening. "But you should be concentrating on that for now. You two should just keep dating. Dating's fun."

"Wow," he deadpanned. "Not what I was expecting. You couldn't just congratulate me, could you?"

"No, I mean, I can, I do. I want you to be happy. I was just surprised. You – "

"You know, you broke my heart when you dumped me for that jerk. I didn't know if I'd be happy again. Lindsay makes me happy. I'm sorry that you have a crappy relationship with Jess and that he treats you like dirt."

"Jess does not treat me like dirt," she argued.

"Whatever. I just wanted you to hear it from me. You know, before it got around. So now you know. Um, have a nice life, Rory."

"Jess does not treat me like dirt!" Rory yelled at Dean's retreating back. He made no response.

Jess watched, unable to move, as Rory continued to stand immobile for several minutes before walking quickly to rejoin the mourners. Letting out a tremendous sigh, he slumped to the ground in the alley. He couldn't believe it. For once, he was in complete agreement with Dean, the idiotic buffoon. He did treat Rory like dirt. But she defended him. He didn't deserve her. He could only drag her down.

Pulling himself up, he returned to the diner, avoiding the funeral crowd. When he was closer to Luke's, he could see that his uncle hadn't returned to reopen the diner. However, there was someone sitting on the steps, apparently waiting to come in.

Jess scowled and called out, "We're closed. There's a sign right behind you. Learn to read. Get hooked on phonics and all that." He got closer and recognized the man from that morning. "You're the loser coffee guy."

The guy stood up. "Well, not as cool as Bono, but I'll take it."

"What do you want? We're still clo-"

"I'm your father," the man practically spat out.

Jess stared, sure he had heard wrong. "What?"

"Your father. Jimmy."

"Are you sure?"

Flustered, Jimmy repeated in disbelief, "Am I su- yes, I'm sure. I'm the guy who ran out on you a couple days after you were born. I didn't mean to just surprise you like this. I thought Luke would've told you by now. Judging by the staring and frowning, he didn't."

Completely overwhelmed, Jess verified, "Luke knew?"

"Yeah, he came to find me earlier this afternoon and threatened to smash my head into a wall of my choice."

Not having the brain capacity to truly digest all this information, Jess simply nodded. "You want some coffee?"

"Oh, um, okay."

Jess led the way into the diner and turned on the radio. He then poured some stale coffee for the man claiming to be his father and brought it over to him before seating himself in a chair at the same table.

They continued to look at one another in silence, only the quiet radio in the background providing any noise. Suddenly, Jimmy pushed his chair back, causing it to topple over. "I gotta go," he stated abruptly then dashed out of the diner.

Jess watched him leave, not knowing what to do.

* * *

What was he supposed to do? Jess lay thinking, in the dark, ignoring his uncle's snores across the room. He'd screwed up worse than he had in a while. Rory. Graduation. Luke. His…dad. How weird to think about it. He didn't know what to make of the man. Why had he showed up after all these years? And Luke knew it was him but didn't say anything?

He was going to have to have a chat with Uncle Luke in the morning.

* * *

"Jess. Get up."

The teenager mumbled incoherently and turned to face the other side of his bed.

"Jess, come on. Get up already."

He pulled a pillow on top of his head.

"I know you're awake."

Suddenly, he was surrounded by cold air. Luke had pulled the sheets off him and now proceeded to shake him awake.

"What the hell, Luke?" he grumbled, moving his arm around in an attempt to find his alarm clock. "It's…" he squinted, "six something in the morning."

"Yeah, well, you owe me several years work, so you might as well get started," Luke replied gruffly. "You have ten minutes to make yourself pretty and get down there before I sic Lorelai on you." He then pulled him off the bed and pushed him towards the bathroom.

Stumbling, Jess muttered, "Jeez. All right, I'm going."

Ten minutes later, he found himself in the diner, ordering pad in hand. Refilling cups was pretty mindless work, something he could handle at this ridiculous hour. Kirk, however, was another story.

"I think I'd like an egg and cheese omelet." Jess wrote it down. "Wait, mother made me scrambled eggs yesterday and I found a website that said eating eggs too many times a week is unhealthy. And I'm really trying to stay in shape. It's why I practice yoga every morning before coming here. I find it gives me a good sweat sheen and it releases pheromones. Of course, this means –"

"Kirk!" Jess glared menacingly.

"Toast with strawberry jam," he gulped.

"You got it."

He turned to tell Caesar the order and found Luke standing right behind him. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Luke ignored his comment. "You've been here for an hour. You can go now."

"What? I thought I had years of servitude to work off," he reminded his uncle sarcastically.

"You do. But you also have school, which begins in fifteen minutes."

"Nope."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Is today a holiday?"

"Nope."

"You're just not going?"

The grunts continued. "Yup."

"Jess, you need to go to class."

"Why?"

"So you can graduate."

He shrugged. "Not happening," he said nonchalantly.

Blinking and taking a step back, Luke demanded, "What?"

"I'm not graduating," he explained, slowly, as if to a child.

Luke let out a strangled sort of yell, before calling towards the kitchen, "Caesar, watch the place!" He then roughly put his hand on his nephew's shoulder and steered him back up to the apartment.

Once inside, Jess threw off the arm with a snarl. Luke didn't seem to notice.

"What do you mean you're not graduating?" he asked.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I am not _graduating_," he repeated.

"Well, why not?"

"I don't know, something about not showing up enough."

"Jess," Luke sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table, "we had a deal. You could come back and you would graduate. It's simple."

"Yeah, well, life doesn't always go according to plan."

His uncle glanced up, his eyes suspicious. "When did you find out?"

He shrugged. "Last week."

Luke looked overwhelmed again. "Last week?" he repeated. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jess glared. "I don't know. Why didn't you tell me my father came to see me?" he demanded harshly.

The older man look defeated again. "You know?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you. He came back after the funeral."

"Jess, Jimmy Mariano is a useless asshole who left you and your mother the same day you were born to run away to California. He deserted you for Venice Beach."

"I know who he is, thanks."

"He doesn't deserve to have you in his life. He'd just mess you up and bring you down the wrong path. He'd keep you from your future," he said sadly. But then his mind seemed to retrace his steps to the original topic. "But you did that on your own. How can you not be graduating? You've got to be the smartest kid in that hellhole."

"I'm no Doogie Howser, but I'm no sheep either."

Luke stood up. "I'm going to go talk with the principal," he stated walking to the door. "What's his name again?"

"I dunno."

"You don't…" he trailed off disbelievingly. "Okay, Jess, you stay here. I'll be back in an hour. We'll get you summer classes or something."

The teenager moved to lie on his bed. "Good luck," he scoffed. "I already tried that."

Luke's clearly waning patience snapped. "Tough luck, Jess. You're graduating. Or you're gone." He slammed the door behind him.

An hour and a half later found Jess still lying on his bed, awaiting Luke's return. It didn't seem like he'd be coming back anytime soon. He knew it wasn't worth the trouble. _He_ wasn't worth the trouble.

Making up his mind, Jess rolled to the floor and looked under his bed and pulled out his duffle bag. He threw in things he thought he'd need. Some clothes. His hair products. A bunch of paperbacks.

He had to leave. He'd messed everything up too much. He couldn't repeat senior year while Rory was off at Yale. She deserved more than a guy who couldn't even graduate from the school where Kirk received a diploma. He didn't even know if she could forgive him. But if she did, he'd still only hold her back. No, he had to go.

Luke. Luke didn't ask for this. Jess knew Liz only called Luke after putting him on the bus to Stars Hollow. But he never tried to make him feel unwelcome. He'd done his best. And what did he do? He gave his uncle a constant headache and a big bill.

Only one thing left to do.

Jess pulled on his leather jacket as he looked out the window to see if Luke was on his way back yet. All clear. Shouldering his bag, he looked around the apartment one last time before turning his back on the place and running through the back so as not to let any of the diner customers see him. He ran to the bus that was pulling up across the street and hopped on, moving to the back.

On to Hartford.

He pulled out a book and started reading, ignoring the other passengers on the bus. That is, until he felt a set of eyes boring into him, forcing him to glance up.

There she was. As their eyes made contact, Rory blushed slightly and glanced down. Jess thought she'd continue to ignore him until he saw her bend down to grab her yellow backpack and weave her way towards him. He hastily dropped his book into his bag, which he kicked beneath the seat.

She sat next to him. "Hi," she said awkwardly.

"Hey," he responded with difficulty. He hadn't planned on seeing her. He'd thought a clean break would be best. Maybe if they left things the way they were at Kyle's party, everybody would heal much quicker. "I thought you took an earlier bus."

"I usually do," she assured him. "Teacher conference. My first class got cancelled."

"Ahh."

"Yeah."

"So what's been going on?"

"Nothing much. Fran died."

"I heard."

"I went to her funeral yesterday."

"Luke went, too."

"Really? I didn't see him."

Jess cleared his throat. "He said he was at the back."

"That explains it."

If he was leaving, he had to get a couple of things off his chest. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to look at her as he said, "I couldn't get the prom tickets."

She turned her gaze to the dirty floor of the bus. "Oh," she muttered, clearly disappointed.

"I'm sorry." His voice was cold and crisp, but he tried to tell her with his eyes just how sorry he was. For prom, for the party, for just being an overall failure of a boyfriend.

But she never looked up. "Well, it's just a stupid dance. Nothing life-changing. I mean, we can do something else instead."

Jess sighed silently. There she went again, making excuses for him. He didn't say anything to her for the rest of the ride.

The bus stopped and Rory finally looked up. Glancing out the window, she said, "This is my stop."

Jess simply nodded.

As she stood up, she finally looked at him. Her eyes were brighter than usual. "So you'll call me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

He thought about it and decided what he needed to do instantly. He took a deep breath. "Yeah," he lied. "I'll call you."

She gave him a small smile and walked off the bus. Jess watched her until the bus started to roll away and he could no longer see her out of the grimy window.

"Fuck!" he muttered, kicking the fortunately empty seat in front of him. He ignored the looks of worry the other passengers shot him.

After a minute of glowering at the world in general, Jess heaved a sigh, reached underneath his seat and pulled his duffle bag onto the empty place next to him. Rummaging through his bag, he found another book that he had started earlier. It reminded him of Rory, whom he didn't particularly want to think about as he ran across the country from her. But he'd think of her no matter what. Might as well choose his own poison.

* * *

**Soundtrack: **"Yesterday" by the Beatles; "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie; "La Belle et le Bad Boy" by MC Solaar; "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash; "Konstantine" by Something Corporate

**References:** Not many this time. Um, _The Guinness Book of World Records_; Miss Piggy; James Dean; Bono; and Doogie Howser, MD. Did I miss anything?

**Author's Note:** I suck. I know. Not much to say, basically I'm still plugging away, albeit very slowly. Thanks for staying with me up to now. I'm going to try and be better, writing a few paragraphs a day. If you truly want the deets, go to my profile and all will be explained (look under the link to TAAR's playlist). I did not edit the second half of this. It's almost one in the morning and I think a half a year between updates is much too long so I'm posting it now. But I did try to make it extra long for you. Nearly 12 pages. Do you guys think I write a convincing male point of view? Any suggestions. I'm a girl, so any advice or tips would be treasured.

Last installment I told you some things about me so here we go again! One: For the past two years, since I left the town I grew up in to go to school, random strangers have been coming up to me and they start speaking Spanish. When I reply, "What?" they seem genuinely surprised that I have no idea what they're saying. I speak French. And _very_ little Italian. Apparently, to a lot of people, I look Latina. But no. Not a drop. I just find it interesting. I was once out with a friend and earlier that day I had told her about how this has been happening to me a lot recently (she didn't completely believe me). Ten minutes later, a guy walks up to us, turns to me and says, "Hola." I wave back at him, fry in hand. He then holds up a book and asks me if I speak Spanish. I say that I don't and the guy walks away. He doesn't even ask my friend (who is trying to hold back her laughter) if she speaks Spanish, which, incidentally, she does.

Two: Do you know how people say, "Oh my gosh, you look just like insert-celebrity-name-here!"? Yeah. That doesn't happen to me. I'm not even one of those people who don't look like anyone famous. That's right, I do get compared to rather well-known beings. Cartoons, specifically. When I was younger, some lady I met decided I looked like Belle. Which I can understand, because when I was eight, my hair kind of fluffed out into the same style as Belle's (but less perfect) and I had really big eyes and was always carrying a book around. About a year or so ago, I was at this party where I didn't really know anybody, just a few of my friends. I was laughing while everybody else tried to remember my name and if they'd seen me before (they were a bit tipsier than they thought). Then one girl exclaims something along the lines of "I know where I've seen you before! You look just like Snow White!" Then she points at me and says to the others, "Black hair!" As I was retelling this story to my friend, and all the other cartoons I've been compared to, she decides that, "You do kind of look like Jasmine." And the character I get compared to the most: Pocahontas. It's usually when I decide to put my hair into twin braids, which is interesting because in the movie her hair is always down and usually blowing in the wind. But when I was in 7th grade, I went to a party and some of the guys there decided they were going to call me Pocahontas for the rest of the night (and since they were older, I wasn't going to argue when they chose me to be among their favorites). Another time, it was around Halloween and a friend asked me what I was going to be. I had no idea and said so. I was, for some reason, in PJs that day, and, when I haven't dressed up to go to school, I put my hair in braids. Her reply: Flick one of the braids and say, "You can always be Pocahontas." So extremely long story summarized: I don't look like a real person. But if you think of just about any Disney princess with dark hair, I've been compared to her at least once. I guess I should be flattered. They may be two-dimensional, but they are pretty.

Third: I cannot act. My mother used to be an actress and wanted me to follow in her footsteps, which I did not find entirely unappealing. So I was registered in this Saturday morning acting class for young teens. I soon discovered that I dislike the spotlight way too much to be an actress. Plus there's the whole, I hate lying and I'm terrible at it so acting is probably not the way to go. I struggled through the whole 8 weeks and came to a conclusion: I can only play two very different characters. I rocked the crazy, funny, tiny old grandmother who locked unassuming people away in her house if they were seeking shelter from the storms (I think I was especially good pretending to be short considering I'm over 5'9"). The other character that I can play is apparently Anne Frank. We were given monologues to read cold to whatever group you were put into (each group was 3 people). We each had to in turn read our part and the other two would give you points to improve on. I remember one girl was Lucy from _Peanuts_. So we did this. I went and they had nothing to constructively criticize me on (score!). But then we had to read our monologues in front of the rest of the class and the teacher. Since we'd been given the papers 10 minutes ago, clearly we didn't need to memorize, but we were supposed to look at the sheet as little as possible. We all offer advice on how to make the performances better. When my turn comes up, I go. I recite. The teacher looks curious and asks me, "What did your group tell you to change?" I reply, "Nothing really." She nods and doesn't say anything else. I wait a couple seconds to see if anybody is going to say anything. Nothing. I slink back to my seat and bask in my apparently convincing representation of Anne Frank. The next week I was back to my terrible acting self.

Wow, I just spent over a page talking/typing about myself. I honestly intended to only write a short paragraph and list the 3 facts about me. Oops. Well, if you made it this far, you are very persistent and for that I admire you, as well as for your many other admirable qualities, I'm sure. Anyway, peace out!


End file.
